Mistake Flats Hut | Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Park
The 2021 Rangitata River floods seem to have swept away much grassy river flats close to the river, and it’s now bouldery access much of the way from Growler Hut. Four-wheel drives seldom now brave it, but the old track is usable in places by trampers.
A typical New Zealand Forest Service SF 70 six-bunk hut in good condition that was relocated here in the 1980s.
The open fire has been replaced with a wood burner. The remains of the old hut serve as a woodshed, but there isn’t much to fill it in the vicinity.
category . . . standard hut
hut fee . . . from 1 July 2026
Adult (18+ years): $15.00 per night
Youth (5–17 years): $7.50 per night
Child/Infant (0–4 years): free
Before you go, buy 1 Standard Hut Ticket (blue for adults, red for youth) for each night of your stay. Put this in the honesty box at the hut. A Backcountry Hut Pass is also valid year-round.
booking . . . not required all year for either hut or camping
campsite fee . . . free to camp
elevation . . . 790 m
bunks . . . 6 mattresses, on bunks
built . . . 1980s relocated to this site
heating . . . wood burner
water . . . 30 m to creek at the back of the hut, but when dry and summer, it’s a 400 m walk each way to the closest braid of the Havelock River. Take the fainter of the four-wheel-drive tracks, which takes about seven minutes each way.
toilet . . . longdrop
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